Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Like a Great Tree Looking Up at the Sky
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The best.
Doing exactly as ordered. Without question. Silently enduring any pain that came.
Raphael White had always thought that was what giving your all meant.
But he had fallen short of his best. He was sure he had given everything...
After passing through the selection training camp, trainees were assigned to different units based on their scores.
Among them, the highest scorers went to the "Pioneer Corps."
Raphael had aspired to join the Pioneer Corps too. But the only place he had reached was this training unit.
Excuses about being from a serf background didn't hold water. One of his peers from the same batch—a serf—had made it into the Pioneer Corps.
*It must be because I didn't work hard enough...*
There was no other way to think about it.
Because he hadn't worked harder as ordered, because he hadn't endured the surging pain longer, because he hadn't given his absolute best, this was his fate.
That was how he gritted his teeth and lived through the years. Under the strict Harun Basio, Junior Baron, he had been worked to the bone for several years, like the five-minute rapid response team.
He wanted to give the best he hadn't been able to last time, this time around.
But why? He thought the summit was right in front of him...
For the past few months, his skills hadn't improved at all. He had planned to promote to Black surname this year... but at this rate, it wasn't certain.
It was suffocating. Heavy, like being trapped somewhere with no sight of the sky...
*Is it because I still haven't given my all?*
But,
*I've done everything ordered, never shied away from any pain... I've done that for years, so what more could I possibly do...?*
Living with that frustration, Raphael White suddenly saw before him a trainee named Kang Geohan, who shattered every rule everyone tacitly believed in.
He didn't do what was ordered, and it looked like he avoided the pain everyone endured.
And yet, Kang Geohan grew faster than any trainee.
The heavy, solid punch from the Pectoralis he piloted slammed into the opponent's Giant's chest.
Kuguung!!
Why? Like a bolt of lightning had struck, Raphael felt chills run up his spine.
* * *
Kwaang!
A strike like a thunderbolt.
The tremendous roar made the onlookers freeze for a moment. So what must it have been like for the one who took it?
-Guh... ugh...!
Through the public channel he hadn't switched in time, Gerot's stifled groan leaked out.
The Giant staggered back a step, then wobbled further.
But
Kung!
At the last moment, Gerot yanked the Giant's upper body forward and stepped ahead instead.
Gerot gritted his teeth, eyes bloodshot.
-You... won't surpass me!
Keudeuk!
Gerot's Giant clenched its fist tight.
With a sound like steel crumpling, a massive punch slammed into the cockpit of Kang Geohan's Giant, the Pectoralis.
Kuaaaang-!
Sparks flew, and dust puffed up from the ground.
Steam from the Giant at full output spread like fog everywhere.
One step.
The Pectoralis staggered back one step and held.
Kang Geohan gritted his teeth.
A metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
*Please, go down. Please.*
Kang Geohan's mana output was 287 pindem. Gerot's was 675 pindem.
The longer the fight dragged on, the clearer it was Kang Geohan couldn't match him.
Right now, Kang Geohan was holding on only by squeezing out his meager mana in bursts.
After one punch and two blocks, his mana was already bottoming out.
*If I can't push through this time... I'll lose.*
Bloodshot eyes glared from Kang Geohan.
*Heavier. Stronger...!*
Overclock made the cockpit glow brighter, and sweat dripped from Kang Geohan's chin in the scorching heat.
Chiiik... chiik!
Steam from the Pectoralis filled the air thickly. The cooling system couldn't keep up, turning the hot air sauna-like—even the onlookers sweated.
In a dizziness like his brain was boiling, Kang Geohan scraped together his mana and unleashed a strike.
A dizzying pull as his mind stretched to a single point, and
Kwaaaang-!
Like a shell exploding, the fist landed. The shockwave blew away the thick steam, revealing the blue sky.
Against that sky, Gerot Yellow stood firm, having retreated just one step.
*He withstood that too...?*
There was no more mana to squeeze out.
Kang Geohan dropped his head. If he did it right, he could surpass Gerot and take first—had he been too optimistic?
Gerot's voice came through.
-You bastard... I won't... fall below you...
Kikigi-
Gerot's Giant lurched forward one step.
Kang Geohan gritted his teeth. Almost no mana left, but he'd endure to the end. With that resolve, he braced for the impact.
But.
-You fucking... body... why...
Gerot's strike never came.
Gerot's Giant froze, fist pulled back.
"What? Why's he just standing there?"
"Gerot! Gerot's passed out!"
The instructors checking the cockpit screens jumped in alarm and pulled Gerot from his Giant.
Gerot was carried out, face pale, a thin trickle of blood at his mouth.
Only then did Kang Geohan exhale.
"Ah... I won."
* * *
Watching Kang Geohan's victory, Raphael White closed his eyes gently. An inexplicable turmoil shook his chest.
Like a clogged ceiling bursting open to reveal the blue sky—a refreshing clarity.
Why? Why was that?
Raphael White approached Kang Geohan as he descended from the Giant.
"You've gotten unbelievably stronger in such a short time. What trick did you use? You barely even joined the training."
Kang Geohan glanced at Raphael with an exhausted face and spoke. His voice cracked from fatigue.
"I just chose."
"Chose?"
"What method suits me best. How much training and how much rest is optimal. I analyzed it scientifically and picked the better way."
Scientific choice.
Raphael White felt stabbed, and excused himself.
"But... choice? For a soldier, that's..."
Kang Geohan cut him off, weary.
"That works for a simple soldier."
Kang Geohan's gaze on Raphael. Raphael felt pierced by it.
"But we're knights."
"Knights..."
Quasi-noble.
Equivalent to nobility.
Beings who chose for themselves and bore responsibility.
Suddenly, Raphael felt ashamed.
He said he was working hard to get stronger, but he'd never pondered how to train.
He'd just blindly pushed himself with the taught methods. Never checked if they worked, or sought better ones.
*Is that why... I've stagnated, unable to advance...?*
His heart pounded.
Of course, there was anxiety. Vague unease at abandoning the familiar path for another.
But.
*There's a guy who just proved it right there?*
One who pioneered his own path, not blindly relying on others.
Raphael thought Kang Geohan shone brightly.
Kang Geohan. He looked fiercely free.
Then.
Passing Raphael White, Kang Geohan saw his shaken eyes.
Even in exhaustion, Kang Geohan's lips tugged up.
*I did it.*
He realized he had just planted a thick, tough root in the barren soil of the selection training camp, like a wasteland.
*I've imprinted my name my way.*
Until now, Kang Geohan was a nobody. If he vanished, only Davis or Kaltz might care.
In Laniakea, a world utterly unlike Earth, Kang Geohan's roots were that frail.
No different from a worthless pebble.
But if, like with Raphael, he kept imprinting his existence on others, spreading roots wide and deep.
*Gradually, fewer people will be able to mess with me.*
Having regained his past life's memories to live a new life, he wanted to try living that way.
Freely.
Like a deep-rooted great tree gazing up at the blue sky.
*Gotta earn recognition from Basio Junior Baron too.*
Kang Geohan steeled himself and walked. The evaluation was over.
His score matched Helena's—the genius record—perfect.
Now it was time to rest and grow his mana output.
* * *
Harun Basio fell silent.
Only after a long pause did he speak.
"So... Kang Geohan took the top score?"
Raphael White answered.
"Yes. That's correct."
"Beating that, Gerot Yellow?"
"Yes."
"Shit..."
Basio Junior Baron rubbed his dry face and tossed out.
"Kaltz. Was this it?"
"Pardon?"
"When I said do as you please, were you expecting this?"
Kaltz smiled faintly.
"No, I didn't expect it."
"Don't lie."
"It's true. Though... Sir Kang Geohan Yellow always exceeded my expectations—that's the only fact I know."
"Damn... Drives me crazy. Getting top score here means I can't even kick him out?"
No matter how strict Basio Junior Baron was, he couldn't expel a top scorer.
"But I can't just keep a guy who slacks on training either..."
Silent in thought again, Basio Junior Baron turned to Raphael White.
"Bring Kang Geohan Yellow. I need to talk to him."
"Yes!"
Raphael White saluted sharply! and left. Watching his back, Basio Junior Baron shook his head.
"Why's he so excited?"
Soon after, Raphael returned with Kang Geohan.
"Sir! Reporting to the Training Camp Commander."
Kang Geohan suppressed his tension and saluted Basio Junior Baron.
On the way, Raphael White had explained roughly: Harun Basio Junior Baron had tried to expel him, but dropped it after the top score.
Sure enough, Basio Junior Baron ignored the salute, glaring coldly at Kang Geohan.
After staring long, he spoke.
"No more excused from training ahead. Got it?"
Straight to the point.
It pressed harder on Kang Geohan.
*Should I back down here?*
The camp's program was great for selecting talent and grit, but for Kang Geohan—who already had both—it was inefficient. He wanted to grow fast, close the gap with freeborn trainees.
Kang Geohan decided.
*Push a bit more.*
A tightrope over expulsion. But as a fitness trainer valuing efficiency, he couldn't yield easily. Kang Geohan spoke.
"Training Camp Commander. I want to graduate this camp first place."
Basio Junior Baron furrowed his brow.
"First? You, skipping training like that? Impossible."
"But even following training, it's impossible. There's at least a five-year gap between me, a serf, and the freeborn trainees."
Kang Geohan wasn't wrong.
In the camp's history, no serf had ever taken first.
Basio Junior Baron stared silently, then tossed out.
"So... train your way, and you'll get first?"
Kang Geohan hesitated, then straightened and answered.
"Yes. That's right."
"You're calling the camp's program bullshit."
Sharp words from Basio Junior Baron's mouth.
His lip twisted.
"But... if a knight insists this much, I have to hear him out. Raphael!"
"Yes!"
"From now on, fully support Kang Geohan's training. If anyone complains, say it's the commander's order and back him up hard. And Kang Geohan..."
"Yes!"
"Your conduct score will be zero. To graduate like that... no, to take first, you know what you need to do."
Kang Geohan swallowed.
Zero.
He'd expected low conduct, but this was harsher. No backing out now.
"Understood."
"Out."
"Yes. Sir!"
As Kang Geohan saluted and left, Basio Junior Baron leaned back wearily.
"Honestly, I don't expect first. But conduct zero. Can he even graduate? Instructor Kaltz Black, your thoughts?"
"Normally, impossible."
"Normally, huh?"
Kaltz and Basio Junior Baron's eyes met in the air.